Queen of Spades Card Game
This is the variation of how I learned this game. I enjoy it so much, I thought I would document it because I have yet to see any other instructions that follow these rules. We do call it Queen of Spades, but I haven't found a variation with the rules that we play with. I'm newer to the game but these friends have been playing for years and these are the rules they, and now I, stand by.
Game Requirements
- 🃏Two decks for up to 6 players, jokers included. Add more decks if you need more players.
- 🎯Set up how high you want to score before a win. The game score can fluctuate greatly round to round. The normal is 1000 to 2000 for a win. You can even start an infinite game where you just keep adding the score for as long as you want.
Setup
The person who deals first cuts the deck. They then use the deck in their hand that they cut and they deal out 13 cards per player. If they manage to cut the perfect amount of cards to deal out 13 cards per player or if they can deal out the cards and have one left over for the face up card, they will receive 100 bonus points. If they run out they simply take additional cards from the deck to finish the deal.
If the dealer starts dealing and they forget to cut, trust me it happens, it is their loss and they lose out on the opportunity to gain the 100 bonus points.
Objective
Get the most amount of points in a hand to add to your score for the entire game. Catch other players off guard by going out first or play the long game to try and accrue points. The player out first in a round gets 100 bonus points.
Game Play
The person after the dealer goes first and play goes in a clockwise direction.
There is the face down draw pile and the first face up card in the discard pile set by the dealer. The player has the option to take from the draw pile or because there is only one card face up, they can take that card.
Laying down sets
Cards can be laid in front of you from your hand in sets of three or more. 2's are the only wild card and you can not place two 2's with a single card to make a three set. You may also add to cards that you have already laid.
For example you have a set of 3 Jacks and you pick up another Jack. You can add that Jack whenever you wish to that set. You can also add a wild to any set.
You may lay sets of three or more during your turn until you discard. Once you discard, your turn is officially over. A laid card is a played card.
- •Jokers are not wild and can be played with a wild 2.
- •No set may have more than one wild card (2) but you can make a set of three or more 2's.
- •Wild cards can not be moved or picked up after they are played, they must remain in the set they were played in.
The turn is completed when the player discards 1 card. One card must be discarded on every turn and after that card is placed, the turn is over and no other cards can be laid and the turn continues to the next player. If the player discards their last card, they have won the round. They also get a bonus which will be explained in scoring.
Taking from the discard pile
If there is more than one card in the discard pile…
If there are more than one card in the discard pile, you may not simply just take the card or the pile. You may still take a card from the draw pile on your turn but if you want that freshly discarded top card, there are some rules to follow.
The top card that was just discarded, if you take it you must make a set of 3 or more, a natural set with no wilds and lay down that set. If you have 4 of a card in your hand you do not have to put down all 4 and that discard to make 5 cards. You can put down 2 cards plus that discard and hold onto that other pair if you want to do it again in the future. The only requirement is a minimum set of 3 with no wilds. When picking up you must pick up the entire discard pile! We play strictly that you can not look to see what is in the pile before picking up!
💡 How we play it to avoid any play issues, let's say the pile is a face up Jack with 5 cards underneath. What we do is the player would put down their two jacks in front of them, take that top discard Jack laying the set in front of them and then the rest of the cards into their hand. At this time the player can always place additional sets or add cards to their existing sets. We do it this way in case the entire deck is swooped up and the player was incorrect with the matching set with the discard. Apparently it happens.
You can not take the top discard to add to your set you have down. You need two more of the matching cards in your hand to do this.
So basically, if you have three 5's down and two in your hand, and someone discards a 5, you can take the pile and lay 3 five's, you can join those three cards with your existing set of 5's.
There is some more strategy on how to lay your cards and when, but I'll let you figure that out.
Remember, if by chance there is only one card in the discard pile you can take it without consequence. You do not have to make a set with it.
Scoring
After the last card is discarded the round is over. Subtract the score in your hand from your laid cards. You may go into a negative!
Card values
Example
You are not the first out and you have laid:
- Set: 2, 4, 4 (2 is wild)
- Set: 10, 10, 10, 10
- Set: Queen of Spade, Queen, Queen
Played Total: 190
In your hand you have:
2, 3, 6, 10, Joker, Ace, Ace
Hand Total: 120
A note from Steven
Track this game in Score My Games
Since a game can run to 2000 or go on forever, a running scoreboard helps. Score My Games is my free app for exactly this, add players, tally each round, and keep a perpetual score across game nights. Free on your phone or the web.
Fun Fact
The Queen of Spades is essentially the toxic ex of this game: she’s worth a massive 100 points and will absolutely wreck your life (and score) if you're still holding onto her when the music stops.
Comments
Finally I have found someone who knows Queen of Spades is different than just a variation of the game Hearts! I grew up playing this game, but sadly the grandchildren aren't interested in card games.
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